Poem - Ceaseless

i dream you are unhappy
because something is bothering you
so i wake up at 2 AM
and in the black dark i make a mental note
to call you in the morning
and ask if everything is okay
but when i awake in the morning
the light reminds me you're angry at me
and you'll never let go of the unhappiness
that i dream ceaselessly about

i make coffee i smoke a cigarette
i cough and figure it is time to quit

Poem - Fire

fire is an event
not a thing

a tree cut down
sunlight going out
in twisted flames
sparks gushing up
some see agony
others enjoy

only on earth
where there is
enough oxygen

everything can burn
here london
chicago warsaw
russia berlin
infirm people
villages cars
neighborhoods
rivers

a heap of old
newspapers could
burst into flame

or magazines

or compost heaps

or all your culture
stripped to black ash
in every nook
and cranny

fire is an event
not a thing

Lions, Tigers and Bears

He blew his brains out in Ohio, but before he pulled the trigger, he let all his exotic animals out, hoping one or two of them would harm him in the most grievous and gruesome manner. Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh My! He presented himself ceremoniously as a target, to each, unlatching the doors. But the cougars, and other caged beasts fled from him like everyone else in his miserable life. The best he got was a hiss and a swat, and that only left a few superficial gashes through his jeans. Then he had cold comfort imagining his neighbors would be locked in their houses for miles and miles around, at the same time down here he'd be laying with his brains and bits of bone stuck all over the walls. Just like his father. Ha ha ha. Ha ha. He listened for screams, and heard none. He bent his head down, and started walking back to the trailer. He hated the sun, he hated the sunlight, he hated the morning. Then he remembered he had meant to kill himself, and looked one more time behind, at the pens. He put the gun to his head.

Off Into Space

Off into space we go, with bags of farts. The navigator is obviously insane, he collects his farts. We find this out after reaching orbit, when calculating the next leg of the historic journey. Commander Maarten squeezes a plump one, seeming empty, in the aft cabin. After the fight, and the various reactions of the crew, I now see this will be a long, arduous journey.

Organizing a Day of Protest

"I'm organizing a day of protest." I say.

"Oh, you are? Against whom?" says God.

"You, of course!

"Oh! I see. That's nice!"

"Really? You're not offended?"

"No, no! I think this is wonderful."

"Organizing a protest against you, and you have no problem with this."

"Yes, fabulous."

"Why?"

"Why do you think?"

"I'm guessing, you like the concept of people getting out of their routines, meeting others, with something bigger than themselves in mind?"

"Something like that. I always find it is hopeful when people get out of their routines for a cause, and meet with others."

"So you think Hope is important?"

"I'm always Hopeful with you."

Poem - Birthday Poem to David

DAVID'S BIRTHDAY POEM

i'd meet him
and he might be in a state

grin and grim
only like an irishman can

this was easily fixed
when i demanded to know
if he wanted a drink

but it wasn't the drink he wanted

it was for someone who knew him
well enough to ask

~ ~ ~

he moves through sorrow
moves with the joy
things here & gone

and we talk about all

though we know it
can't last

----

For David Penney
10.13.11

Poem - see how i have more things to unlearn

you act like i was saying something?
i must have been seeming to say something
now
see how i have more things to unlearn

wanting to be truly useful to others
i need to get out of the way of myself
now
see how i have more things to unlearn

-----

10.13.11

Poem - i was gone/ but now i'm back

i call my dad on his birthday
he answers the phone

before he would not
i blamed him for everything

the card was sent on time
for this day onhand

a fine day in october
to be born

i was gone
but now i'm back

-----

October 11, 2011

God Buys Me a BLT in Escondido

I go to a cafe in Escondido. I see God is there, standing in line.

"Let me buy you a sandwich." says God.

"OK." I reply.

We stand there, and God is humming to himself quietly.

"Can I pick the sandwich? I'd like --"

"No." says God.

He orders me a BLT and I don't want a BLT. We sit down at a booth in the window, it is a lovely morning. I drink a cup of coffee I carried in, and I resent God ordering a BLT for me, even though it looks delicious.

God starts eating.

"So how do you relate to Buddhism?" I ask God.

"Eat your BLT." says God.

I start eating my BLT, and I don't like how the bacon and mayonnaise are getting together with the bread.

"So where are you in the synthesis of Christianity?" I ask God.

"Keep eating." says God.

"But what about free will and human nature?"

"Oh..." says God, seeming to have a thought on his mind.

He pauses. I wait, holding half a BLT. A pretty girl comes into the cafe, and God watches her, smiling. She walks past us and I can't see her. Finally, I turn and look at what he's looking at. I expect to see the pretty girl, but she's vanished!

"Nevermind!" says God.

Poem - I Think of You

for Latif

when i see a pretty girl
and i get to talk to her
and she remembers my name
i think of you

i see the full moon
when i go to sleep and then
it is there at 5 am when i'm up
i think of you

if i'm stuck in traffic
and getting impatient
but then i accept the now
i think of you

i see it is beyond my hand
it is beyond word thought or day
it was here before before
it is in the thought of you
and it will remain

-------

Center City Parkway @ W Washington St
Escondido

Poem - And Right Then

she kissed him and he laughed
her hair covering over his face

the most natural thing
love and joy of being together
having found the precious enduring gift
with someone very made for you

and right then i wished a 14 ton block
would fall out of the sky
and smash them flat

then later when i was home
i truly regretted thinking this
and i did my laundry
& i could see why i was alone

Poem - YES

program asks
click YES to accept

so i click
YES

then it goes
are you sure, click
YES

& i click YES
one more time
to be sure

and i find i wish
people were
that way